QIB expands Direct Remit Service in Egypt

The announcement comes as a response to the bank’s commitment to upgrade its money transfer service and meet the expanding needs of its customers. After launching in India, Pakistan, Jordan, and the Philippines, QIB collaborated with a bank in Egypt to include the region in its expanding list of countries within the QIB Direct Remit network.

Customers can initiate a money transfer by logging into the QIB Mobile App, selecting their destination, and adding the intended recipient to transfer funds efficiently with improved exchange rates to the beneficiary’s banks. According to QIB’s officials, adding Egypt to the list of countries available in their direct remit services via their mobile app highlights the bank’s objective to deliver seamless, secure, and efficient banking experiences for all customers.

A report from the World Bank shows that remittance flows to the Middle East and North Africa decreased by 3.8% to USD 64 billion in 2022 after recording a considerable growth rate of 12.2% in 2021. As the largest recipient of remittances in the region, Egypt registered a decrease of 10% during 2022, reaching USD 28.3 billion, compared to USD 31.5 billion in 2021.

According to Statista, the total value of remittances received in Egypt reached approximately USD 6.4 billion in the first quarter of 2022-2023, a total value lower than in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year, when USD 8.1 billion was transferred to the country. 

Established in 1982, QIB currently holds a 42% share of the Islamic banking sector and approximately 12% of the total domestic banking sector. The bank accelerated its investments in digital channels, providing services through multi-functional ATMs, mobile and internet banking applications for individuals and companies, and call centres.

Back in February 2023, QIB partnered with Mastercard to launch the QIB SoftPOS app, allowing merchants to turn an Android smartphone into a POS terminal for contactless payments. Through this, merchants can accept contactless transactions from all EMV contactless cards, and NFC-enabled phones with wallets, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other wearables such as Apple Watch, Garmin Pay, or Android watches.

Moreover, in January 2023, QIB entered a collaboration with UnionPay International to enable contactless card acceptance on QIB POS and ATMs. The partnership allows customers of UnionPay to make payments using their credit or debit cards on all the ATMs in Qatar and all the POS terminals provided by the Qatar Islamic Bank.

In December 2022, QIB also launched a payment plan on its mobile app that allows cardholders to pay some of their transactions in instalments. The Easy Payment Plan (EPP) targets single transactions above USD 1,373 completed in the last 35 days by Revolve or Charge Credit cardholders. Individuals can pay these transactions in equal instalments over 6, 9, 12, or 24 months without processing fees. 

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